Ethrica: Kingdom of Darkness
by Gekido-San
Summary: A/U: Takao is a prince who doesn't want to rule, Kai is a soldier who doesn't want to obey. When Volatire's corrupt plan to take over Ethrica forces Takao from his home it is up to he and Kai, along with an odd group of misfits, to unravel the mysteries surrounding the corruption of their Kingdoms and save the lives of the people within.
1. Prologue

A/N: Ok, Um, *clears throat* Hi!  
It's been a long time... and I mean a very, very, very long time, since I last wrote fanfiction. After high school I began to focus on original stuff... then I got lazy and stopped writing... now I need practice to start publishing my original work again. So, I present to you a re-write of Ethrica: Kingdom of Darkness! I actually lost my original copy but I remember the plot rather well.  
I know Beyblade isn't as popular as it once was so I don't expect a whole lot of reads on this but I hope there are still some fans of the original series hanging around that I can entertain while I try and get my writing mojo back.

So, without further adieu I present to you the first chunk of fanfiction I've written in 7 years!

* * *

The room had grown silent and a bitter chill filled the air as Voltaire's icy glare bore into his daughter, fury reflected in his hard grey eyes.

In her arms she cradled an abomination. Its existence was supposed to bring peace and prosperity, to bring the North and the East together to end an age long feud and seal the alliance between the kingdoms. The lands would be brought together as one and their strength would outmatch that of anything the other two kingdoms could offer. Voltaire wouldn't just be the ruler of the north any longer, he would have the power to merge the West and the South with the North and the East and would rise to be the king of all Ethrica!

Alas, this dream could not be, not now, not ever. Not if Prince Akihito, Lord of the East, found out what his prospective wife had done. She had betrayed him. She had slept with another man, a filthy bird spirit no less, and as a result had birthed a phoenix. Natasha could not hide the fact that this child, this monster, was not the blood of the dragon she was betrothed to. The identifier, the mark on the child's forehead was clearly that of a feathered beast. He, like his true father, was a bird spirit, a noble child of the South.

"Kai. I will call him Kai." Natasha announced proudly, her sing-song voice gentle and weary. "My little Kai." She rocked him in her arms and began to hum a lullaby to the content newborn. She paid her father little attention as he watched over her from the doorway. She knew of his fury, could feel his rage as he glared at her. She would not be forgiven for this treatchery. The East would see this as the betrayal of their truce and soon they would once again be at war.

"Who is the father?!" Voltaire demanded. The thud of his heavy footfalls echoed through the chamber as he approached.

"Prince Akihito." Natasha replied solemnly, her sapphire blue eyes never straying away from the little bundle she held so carefully in her arms.

"DO NOT LIE TO ME!" Voltaire slammed his hands on either side of the bed beside his daughter leaving only enough space between them so he would not come in contact with the child.

Natasha could feel her father's breath against her cheek and she dared to lift her eyes to meet his gaze. She was silent a moment, her brow furrowed in defiance of his disapproval of her son. Had she loved him she might have opted to speak her lovers name. Had she felt he would help her escape this awful situation the way a loving father should she would have spoken of how frightened she was. But she did not love him, and she did not trust him, so she merely uttered "a better man than you."

Voltaire raised a hand and with a whip of his wrist he slapped Natasha across the face. He offered her a curse before turning away and facing one of his guards. "Kill the child." He ordered and before his daughter could protest he added "and search the East for a newborn dragon. I will not lose the chance to bring together the North and the East. I have worked far too hard and too long to allow this whore to bring it all crumbling down. Perhaps we can deceive Akihito for a time."

With a bow of his head and a reluctant march forward the guard seized the baby from his mother's arms. Natasha cried out and she reached out her hands immediately to snatch back her child. When her touch did not find her baby her fingers instead wrapped themselves around the only thing within reach. The hilt of the soldier's sword.

In a quick, smooth moment she rose to her feet and pulled the weapon from its sheath. "If you kill my child-" She began, lifting the silver blade to her own throat before the guard could react, "then I too will perish."

Voltaire sneered but raised a hand to warn his guard and servants away from his daughter. "Then the city shall know you died in child birth. This is not uncommon, my dear."

"Then who will raise your dragon when you find him? Hmm? You would give him to the servants to bring up? Or would you raise him yourself?" Natasha spat.

At this Voltaire cracked a little and his sly grin faded into a considering frown. He was too old and uninterested to raise another child and was a firm believer that children of royalty should be crafted from royalty. Servants were not to interfere with the teachings of a prince or princesses life lessons, only to give them everything they required.

"If you let Kai live I will raise your dragon as though he were my own and I will never speak a word of what you threatened today. But if you take him away from me I will take my life from you. Perhaps it would do to also remind you that I am your last chance for a blood heir to your throne. I know you, you will not want a strange Dragon to succeed you one day. You will use him for now but in the end you will accept nothing less than a child of your own bloodline.!"

Voltaire wrinkled his nose in a display of his disgust but he found at this moment his hands were tied. He was unable to produce another child of his own and his sons had all died in battle throughout the years. Natasha was his last hope for an heir, a true heir. He turned to his guard. "Make haste and find me a Dragon." He hissed. "Make sure no one knows of your reasons and kill all involved when you find the child. No one can know he is not the true son of Akihito."

"What of the Phoenix?" The guard asked.

"We will say I adopted the beast out of the goodness of my heart. Maybe it will give us a good reputation with the South that we are taking care of their filthy kind as well." Voltaire snorted. "Perhaps we can make this whole mess work to our advantage." He turned his cold grey eyes back to Natasha, shaking his head. "We will not kill the runt but when he is old enough I want him to disappear from sight. We will throw him to the wolves."

"I won't let you do that!" Natasha cried out, grasping the sword tighter in her hands as she pointed it towards her father.

"He has no place in this kingdom."

"I cannot see how tossing him amongst your soldiers will offer any kind of a good word amongst the South! They will see it as cruelty! Your wolves are nothing more than bloodthirsty monsters! Brutal killers!"

"And the South are fearless warriors. They will be honoured to know one of their own will be serving amongst the most powerful army in Ethrica. This is my offer Natasha. Either I kill Kai or I make him a soldier."

"You are the sickest of all souls..."

* * *

It would be three months before the opportunity to take an infant dragon arose. Voltaire's servants had searched high and low for a baby they could get their hands on without drawing any attention and it was when they'd heard of a widowed mother that died during childbirth that they finally managed to return home successful. The Eastern boy was named Takao and it was the day of his arrival that Voltaire finally let word spread through the kingdom that his daughter had birthed a healthy baby boy.

There was celebration that night as the city rejoiced. The birth of the dragon Takao meant an era of peace was soon at hand. He was the first step towards what they would be the end of famine and war. Soon mothers would not have to see their husbands and sons off to battle, the men could work and enjoy life without risk of losing a loved one over some kingdom feud. The East and the North were now brought together in peace, soon the South would follow and then the West.

It was only a matter of time...

5 Years Passed…

* * *

"I think momma likes you more than me." Takao pouted and plunked himself down on the ground in front of his adopted brother. He had just gone to Natasha to ask for something sweet to eat but she had refused him. Apparently he got too many treats and was going to get fat if he didn't stop eating!

Not true! Food was too good to do something as bad as making you fat!

"That's 'cause I'm more handsomer than you." Kai replied, scrunching up his little nose and sticking out his tongue.

"No!" The dark haired child argued, picking himself up off the ground and curling his little fists.

"Yep." The red eyed boy replied proudly, folding his arms against his chest and sticking his chin up high in the air.

With a playful scream Takao leapt forward and tackled Kai to the ground. They squirmed about on the floor, wrestling with one another, each trying desperately to pin the other down. They would have gone on for hours had one of the servants not interrupted as she was passing by.

"Boys, what would your grandfather think if he saw you acting like this!" She said, though as she scolded them she couldn't hide the grin that tugged at the corner of her lips.

"Grandfather's a grouch." Takao grumbled as he wrapped his arms around Kai's neck and jumped up on his back in an attempt to get a piggy back ride.

Instead they both just toppled over.

The blonde haired woman laughed.

"Hey, is Max around? Can he come play with us Judy?"

"He's not allowed, remember?" Kai snorted as he stood back up and pushed Takao. "Your grandfather said we aren't supposed to play with servants."

Judy smile didn't fade but her eyes grew sad. "Kai's right Takao, I'm sorry."

"That's not fair. I like Max." Takao growled as he stomped off, frustrated once more with the weird rules the adults made.

Kai bowed his head to Judy respectfully and was about to turn away when the woman stopped him with a question. "Why did you say 'your' Grandfather?"

"Cause Lord Voltaire says I don't deserve to call him that 'cause I'm not his real grandchild." The slate haired boy replied with a shrug. "It's ok though. Momma lets me call her momma, so that's good enough." He grinned and sprinted off after Takao, tackling him as soon as he caught up and the two began another wrestling match.

The brothers, though not by blood, were inseparable. It was rare any member of the castle staff saw one without the other and when they were alone they were usually running through the corridors in search of one another. They were masters of mischief together, criminal masterminds (or, as close to it as any five year old could be), and knew how to get exactly what they wanted, when they wanted, from whom they wanted. They were the perfect team and the best of friends.

So when the day came that Kai was taken away to be trained with the wolf soldiers Takao sobbed for days afterwards.

The brothers had screamed and begged for one another as the guards pulled them apart. Kai had looked to his mother for help, had begged her repeatedly not to let these men take him away, but all Natasha could do was sit there and cry. She refused to hold Takao when he came to her in question of what was happening and when he cried over the loss of his brother she offered him no emotional comfort. Until now she had treated him as though he were her own flesh and blood, had loved him unconditionally like any mother should. But as she watched her baby boy screaming and crying, torn from her to live a life of what she could only imagine would be nothing but pain and torture, she began to immediately feel resentment towards Takao.

Perhaps death would have been the better fate for them both on the day of his brith.

Natasha stopped loving Takao on that day and as the years passed and Akihito finally returned home from war to meet his son she quickly spiralled into a deep depression and hid away in her room, leaving her husband to raise Takao without her.

She would never be allowed to see Kai again and before she could birth her second child she died from the heartbreak, taking the unborn life with hers.

At least this child would not have to grow up in a world so cruel and unfair as what Kai and Takao had, and would continue to experience.


	2. The Rebellious Prince

A/N: Aheh, well here we are with the first chapter.  
Don't get excited, I don't usually update this quickly. I just don't think a prologue is enough to draw the attention of readers alone. After January I'll be able to update a little more frequently. Until then chapters may come at a rate of one a month... Don't kill me.

Now, two the people who reviewed/Favorited/read thank you so much. I actually was expecting 0 feedback so this absolutely made my day! ^.^ Anyway, I'll shut up now so you can continue reading. HAVE FUN!

* * *

Takao didn't want to be a ruler. It was that simple.

He didn't have a good reason for this, he only knew it was what he didn't want. He was too adventurous to sit idly by and watch the world pass before his eyes. He was too rambunctious to sit on a throne all day and bark orders, and most importantly he was far too uninterested in the politics of Ethrica to absorb any of the teachings his tutors had given.

If were up to Takao he would be an explorer, wandering the wilds of the countryside, visiting cities and villages, meeting new people and making friends along the way. He would face great perils and tell stories of his journey to admirers and young dreamers, and one day he would share a romance with a woman he chose, not one betrothed to him.

That was the life Takao wanted. Not one of war and politics, of rules and structure. He wanted to be free to do whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted.

Instead he was trapped behind the confines of the Palace walls.

"Someday I'll run away from this place." He reminded himself as he pulled at a knot tying together two blankets. "Someday I will get away from this restricting palace life and be free to live life as I want to."

A knock at his door drew his brown eyes away from his task and his mind away from its state of wandering in the fantasy of his escape. He shook his dark, messy bangs out of his face and called out "Who is it?"

"It's Max. You summoned, Prince Takao?"

"Max! It's about time!" Takao leaped off his bed and unlocked his door, ushering the blonde haired servant inside the room. He poked his head out the doorway, checking left and right to assure himself no one had followed Max, then closed the door and locked it behind them.

"Sorry I was late my Lord-"

"Max, Max, Max, please stop calling me that. I've told you, Takao is fine."

"Your grandfather hates when I don't speak formally to you."

"Well my grandfather isn't here, is he?"

Max hesitated and looked to the prince in question. "That sounded sinister. What are you up to?"

"Want to go for a stroll through the city?" Takao dragged the makeshift rope he'd been forming from his blankets and tied one end to the post of his bed.

"No, no, no. No, this is a bad idea." The servant boy protested, waving his hands and taking a step back.

"You always say that." Takao offered a devilish grin as he pulled tight his knot and threw the other end of the "rope" out the open window. He leaned over the ledge, eyes following the length of the blankets until they stopped.

It was too short but the cut off didn't look to be more than a few feet from the ground.

"I always say that because it's always a bad idea."

"But you come anyway." Takao argued and turned back to face his friend, a childish pout on his lips.

"Well… yeah, I guess, but-" Max could not find the words to respond. He wanted to go just as badly as Takao. Despite knowing better he knew in his head that this wasn't about to stop him.

"So it's settled. Let's go."

"Takao if I get caught with you out there do you have any idea what Lord Voltaire will do to me?"

The prince waved a hand, dismissing the idea. "Oh he's still locked away in his study, he has been for weeks now. He won't notice and my father's gone off to the South, he won't be back for a few months. There's absolutely no one who will catch us."

"How about the hundreds of guards marching around the palace grounds?"

"We've gotten passed them a dozen times before."

"I don't know Takao-"

"Come on Max! It's no fun by myself! If we get caught I'll just tell them you were chasing after me, alright? It was all my idea, you had nothing to do with it. Ok?"

Max opened his mouth to again protest this but found no words would come out. His blue eyes drifted towards the open window and he watched a flock of sea birds sore by, his jealousy of their freedom enticing him all the more.

Like Takao he too wished for a life outside of the one he had. Max was just as adventurous, just as curious about the world, and just as restricted to see it. He was a slave to this palace and would always be. However, good fortune had graced him in the form of a lonely young prince. They were not allowed to be friends but Takao had never let those rules stop him from finding ways for he and Max to spend time together. They were not an inseparable pair as Takao and his brother had been but they were the best of companions nonetheless.

Too anxious to listen to Max's decision Takao began his climb out the window. When the servant boy had finally made up his mind the young dragon was already on the ground and sprinting off towards the stone wall. He knew just the spot to scale, right behind a thick spread of bushes, that would get him over unnoticed.

With a sigh and a roll of his eyes Max pulled himself up onto the ledge of the window, tugged at the makeshift rope a few times to make sure it was secure enough to hold his weight then slowly, carefully, climbed down to the ground and raced off after Takao.

* * *

Blood splattered against an already crimson stained stone wall and wild howls of excitement rose from the throats of the wolves that gathered, cheering on the contestants of the ferocious battle that raged before them.

Two boys, no older than their mid teens, stood across from each other, bruised, bloody, and exhausted. In front of them were two great grey wolves, a black aura resonating from one and a blue light from the other. They snarled viciously, teeth bared as they began circling one another. A shout from one of the boys ordered the blue wolf to attack and it threw itself at the black. Its long white fangs tore into the throat of its enemy and along with the cry of pain from the black wolf the other soldier screamed in pure agony.

Against a far wall, away from the savage pack of wild, bloodthirsty monsters that screamed and hollered their excitement, a lone soldier watched the battle, his intense crimson eyes, the same colour as the blood that painted the floor, focused on the animal forms of the spirits of the warriors, analyzing their every move.

He folded his arms against his chest and couldn't help but smirk at how pathetic the display was. These soldiers were novices in comparison to his power. Whoever said wolves made the perfect killers had clearly never dared to clip the wings of a wild fire bird.

"What's going on?" A small voice whispered from out of the shadows behind the slate haired warrior.

The soldier's gaze never drifted to the child who had asked, did not for a moment even acknowledge that he was there. The youth wasn't important enough to waste a moment of his time on.

The little boy repeated his question but the response he received instead came from the lips of a red-haired wolf who had just pulled himself away from the crowd.

"A corporeal spirit battle." He said coldly.

"What's that?"

"The masters of this facility will teach you to summon your spirit animal into a physical form. Who is yours?"

"The Jackal, Ryuki"

"So then you'll be able to summon him to fight for you, which is what they're doing."

"That's kind of neat." The little boy replied, enthused.

"Useful in a fight, yes. Neat, well, that's not the word I'd chose. It's an easy way to die if you're not careful. Revealing our spirits like this can make us vulnerable. But if you're a powerful warrior like us it can also make you nearly invincible in battle. It's one of the skills that makes us so deadly in times of war, and it's what wolves are known best for."

"So why are they fighting now?"

"Once in a while we'll challenge each other to a fight between spirits. I think the bet on this one is for an extra meal, but there's a number of reasons we'll fight each other. Sometimes it's to mark your place and show off your strength, other times it's just because we're bored or restless."

"It looks scary. Do you-"

"Enough questions. Get lost brat." The lone soldier snarled giving the little boy a shove with his heavy black boot. "You're annoying me, I'm trying to watch a fight."

The child pouted.

"You're not supposed to be in here anyway." The red-head replied with a shake of his head. "This is just for the older soldiers."

"Sorry." With a sigh the boy raced off, looking back once at the teenager who had growled at him, fear in his eyes of his elder, before he vanished from sight.

It was a look the soldier was all too used to by now. He looked harder than most of the wolves in this dreaded dungeon, scars marred his arms, legs, and torso, and his cold-hearted personality offered the impression that he had a deadly reputation built around him. But even still, as he watched the two boys rip one another apart over a loaf of bread he couldn't help but shake his head in repulsion. "You wolves are savages."

"Says the Phoenix who has never lost a battle." The red-head smirked. "Kai, you're just as savage as the rest of us, you're just a little more quiet about it."

"What do you mean the rest of you? You're as tame as a sheep, Yuri."

"I haven't lost a fight since I was a kid." Yuri snorted in retort, offended by the remark.

"That's because you almost never fight."

"I fight enough." He furrowed his brow. "Shall we have a battle right now then?"

"You're the only person in this God forsaken place that I can almost stand, I'd rather not tear you to pieces." Kai pushed himself away from the wall he'd been leaning on and without a second glance at his companion he began to walk away.

"You scared to fight me?" The older of the two turned to face Kai's back, bringing the younger to a halt.

"Yuri…" His voice was threatening.

"I guess I should be the one scared to fight you, huh? Everybody thought you were going to burn and perish when they brought you here. A bird amongst wolves with nowhere to fly to. You were nothing but prey. Instead you ignited everyone who dared to touch you."

Kai glanced over his shoulder. "But for some reason that fire doesn't seem to be getting rid of you."

"Guess I'm a sucker for punishment."

"Hn." The phoenix grunted and continued on his way. For a moment he was not followed but as the battle came to its end, and Yuri was certain of who the victor was (He had his own bet riding on the taller one) he sprinted off down the long dark corridor in pursuit of the other soldier.

"I wasn't finished."

"I was."

"Did you hear what happened to the King?"

* * *

"I smell food. Sweet, wonderful, fresh baked, food!" Takao lifted his nose towards the sky and drew in a deep breath of air. He licked his lips and rubbed his belly as it growled.

When first he had begun wandering away from home he had hidden beneath rags, careful not to draw any attention to himself as he explored the city lest someone might notice him and report his whereabouts. But as he grew he found that so long as he was kind and friendly with the people they would do nothing to cease his adventures. They knew he was not supposed to be out but most enjoyed the Prince's high energy and personality too much to send him back home. Even the city guards did nothing to draw Voltaire's attention to his grandson's "misdoings."

So Max and Takao, without fear, had taken the day to explore, to talk with the locals and flirt with some of the pretty young woman who ran the shops. Then, as the day was drawing nearer to its end Takao's stomach started complaining about all the extra energy spent and was desperate that it be returned.

"I think you should have been born a baker's son. You would be infinitely happier." Max teased, giving the prince a reassuring pat on the shoulder.

"Don't say that Max! The very idea makes me dread going back home all the more."

"At least food is free at home?"

"Yeah, but the staff never lets me have it when I want it."

"They used to."

"And then my father told them to stop because I was starting to put on too much weight."

Max laughed. "Right, right! I remember that! But he's right, we can't have a fat king!"

Takao let out a snort in place of his laugh. "I hear the king of the south is like a whale, lucky bastard! I bet he eats all day. You know, being king might not be so bad if it was anywhere but the North! I'm even willing to bet living in the East is cushier! Look at my dad, he's so much nicer than my Grandfather and mother. Gah! Why couldn't I have been born there!? I bet life is better for them. Bet the prince's are allowed to wander the city and explore the countryside!"

"You've never been?"

"When I was little yeah, to see my Uncle a few times. But I don't remember it all that well." Takao sighed.

"I think you're probably right though. I bet life is better for everyone outside of the North."

With a grin the prince clapped his hands together in a show of excitement, wheels turning in his head as he crafted a new plan. "Hey Max, why don't we take off right now? You and me. We'll get out of this place and never come back!"

Max stopped walking and a frown replaced the smile that had been plastered across his cheeks since they were free of the palace. "Takao, we can't do that."

"Why not?"

"I can't leave my family and you… leaving, it could drive the East and North apart. You're the glue holding the two together. If you ran away-"

"Ugh! It's not fair!" Takao stomped his foot against the ground in frustration. "I have to hear that line so much! I'm the beginning of an era of peace, the glue that will hold this country together. It's stupid! I don't want this kind of responsibility!"

"I'm sorry Takao, really. But it could be worse."

"How's that?"

"You could have been born a wolf."

Takao's eyes fell to the ground and he silenced.

Max shook his head and wrapped a comforting arm around his friend's shoulders, urging him forward. "Come on, let's go get something to eat before we go back. I'm starving."

* * *

The sun was low in the sky, just beginning to sink beneath the horizon, painting the sky with glorious shades of gold and pink. Max and Takao made the climb back up over the wall onto the Palace grounds just as the last little bit of orange disappeared from sight and slipped around back to where Takao's makeshift rope still dangled from his window.

"In hindsight it probably would have been a good idea to have taken this down." Max muttered.

"So why didn't you, Max?" Takao teased. "Oh, right, never mind. It's because Tortoises are slow thinkers." He stuck out his tongue playfully.

"I resent that remark!" Max retorted. "Tortoises are known for their sharp minds and quick thinking, thank you very much! I was just too worried about you getting yourself caught to bother with-"

"Max! Prince Takao, there you are!"

The two boys spun around. They could feel their hearts racing in their chest, the fear of being caught overwhelming them immediately. There, standing before them, her blue eyes filled with both dread and worry, was Max's mother, Judy.

For the first time in the many years they'd been sneaking away they had finally been caught.

"Don't get mad at Max, it was all my idea-" Takao began in immediate defense of the servant boy.

"My Lord, that's not-" Judy stuttered. "Something's happened."

"What is it?" The dragon took a step forward.

"Prince Takao, I'm so sorry. Your father is dead."

* * *

A/N: I'm going to take a moment and note that I haven't seen Beyblade in a long time so characters may be pretty OOC. I'll do my best. I'll even see if I can find the time to watch the series over again.  
Thanks for reading ^.^ 3


	3. Author Note

A/N: I don't think I'm supposed to do this but I'm going to anyway. I'm not finished writing this story life just got very in the way. I will be returning with new chapters more regularly next month. Just bare with me. I ended up getting a full time job (which I HATED) and was a bit too mopey and tired at the end of the day to bother doing anything else. Currently I'm job hunting again and am unemployed so I should have lots of spare time to start working on this piece again.  
SORRY! And thank you all for your patience.


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